Halloween -- 'It's all about the treats!'

Halloween -- an annual holiday observed on Oct. 31. The holiday commonly observed with activities such as trick or treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films. That's all fun stuff, but the truth of the matter is ... "Halloween is all about the treats!"

Candy, candy and more candy! Usually a week or so after Halloween bowls of candy suddenly appear in various locations here at The Jeffersonian office. Poor kids walk their legs off to get a candy bar or bubble gum and their parents sneak and give it all away!

Trick or treat just wouldn't be the same without candy, right? Well, given the fact that statistics show that approximately 17 percent (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years are obese, perhaps it's time to consider alternative treats. Even though a piece or two of candy isn't going to suddenly make our children overweight, a bag full certainly can't be good. Candy alternatives can be fun but it may require a little more thought than just picking up a bag of suckers at the store.

Some treaters have been creative in giving for years, delighting little "monsters" with coins, such as dimes or nickels, these are the exception rather than the rule. But, there are so many other affordable items to consider.

Try shopping at your local discount or dollar store for bargained price party favors or packages of small toys such as four-packs of crayons, Halloween pencil and mini notebooks you might tie together. Also, stickers or erasers are affordable. Put together an assortment of small craft kits, available at reasonable prices from a number of craft stores.

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Homemade key-chain bracelets are a great candy option and will be appreciated by both younger and older treat-seekers.

At the end of every dentist visit, kids go home excited to have a new toothbrush. Toothbrushes, also found at dollar stores, make both a funny and useful Halloween give-away idea.

Buy one-dollar gift certificates from a local fast food restaurant to give away.

If you are buying store bought cookies or candied apples, be sure to have them individually wrapped by the store to reassure parents that these treat are safe to eat. Many parents will throw away items that look homemade or unwrapped.

You'll be able to find Christian alternatives for treating at Christian bookstores too. You can share your faith by giving small New Testaments, tracts or badges developed specifically for Halloween, pencils with Bible verses and more.

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You may want to encourage your children to make a difference this Halloween by trick or treating for UNICEF. It's a great alternative to soliciting sweets. You can order UNICEF collection boxes online at http://youth.unicefusa.org or call 1-800-FOR-KIDS.

If you won't be happy unless you give a sweet treat, there are healthy alternatives like juice boxes, fruit roll-ups, mini boxes of raisins or perhaps sugar free gum.

You'll want to keep in mind the age bracket of the majority of your neighbor kids when coming up with alternative candy ideas. Younger children will appreciate different options than teenagers.

For the candy your children do receive, you could ration it out over a few weeks. Try packing a couple of pieces in their sack lunches or give them a few pieces after school every day or every other day. Rather than sneaking it out of the house to pawn off on your co-workers, let your child set aside half of their Halloween candy, and later accompany them to donate it to Operation Gratitude (see related article), an organization such as a food pantry or battered women's shelter.